St. LOUIS — This wasn’t just a moment.

I mean, let’s be clear, it was one hell of a moment. But when Jordan Walker won (no, stole) the Home Run Derby on Monday, it wasn’t simply a moment that was, in a vacuum, one to fondly look back upon.

It was a launching.

Walker’s status and celebrity catapulted into the cognizance of our nation. He launched homers like Helen of Troy launched ships. And how he did it, where he did it, when he did it — his home run-launching has made the All-Star Walker a bona fide star. Sure, the pressure’s on for him to perform in the second half of 2026 the way he did in the first (and so on). But as we saw during the Home Run Derby, pressure is no longer a negative to Jordan Alexander Walker.

If you didn’t see it — and man, not to rub it in your face, but you totally missed out — the Cardinals’ Walker participated in his first Major League Baseball Home Run Derby, the night before his first MLB All-Star Game. Walker was a top hitting prospect who, for a few years there, seldom hit. But this season, at age 24, he’s become the guy we originally thought he’d be. He has 22 homers, 74 RBIs (most in baseball), a .294 average and an .887 on-base plus slugging percentage.

And at the derby, he seamlessly fit in. Before it got going, he looked like he belonged. With Ken Griffey Jr. in attendance, Walker even wore his hat backward like “The Kid” once did. And the Cards slugger slammed his way to the final round — and this year, the winner would receive $1 million (Walker’s 2026 salary is around $750,000).

But his opponent, of course, was Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber. And the event was in Philadelphia. As the old story goes, Philly fans famously booed Santa Claus. And so they had their way with Walker, who many might’ve never heard of prior to Monday — yet he was the guy in the way of their guy.

Walker was “The Philly Villain.”

Schwarber proceeded to hit 11 homers.

Walker, cheered every time he didn’t homer, had six home runs with three swings left — but if a hitter homered on his last one, he got to keep swinging.

That’s what happened.

He hit three homers after trailing 11-9 to win the thing.

His final homer had his highest launch angle of the final round. The Netflix camera view caught it as the ball not only flew into the Philadelphia night but seemingly higher than the Philadelphia lights. I took a screenshot. It was far from actually happening, but it looked like the ball would land in the lights, Roy Hobbs-style.

With his million-dollar smile, Walker told reporters in Philly that fans “don’t boo nobodies,” a famous quote from a fellow slugger, Reggie Jackson, who made All-Star homer history himself when he hit a 1971 ball to a light tower in Detroit.

And that’s the thing: Walker is no longer a nobody. He sure was a year ago at this time, when he had three homers in 191 plate appearances at the break (at season’s end, I declared that Walker was 2025’s worst-hitting MLB outfielder, considering he had a .584 OPS). But after this Home Run Derby, he is now not only a name but also a commodity. And a celebrity.

Just think about how many fans now know of Walker and admire him? And how about this: How many kids now know about Walker and admire him? Especially, Black kids — as Walker told reporters, “I hope it means a lot to them. I want to be a role model for the Black kids, and I want more Black kids in baseball. Hopefully this raises some awareness. I know a lot of them are playing basketball, (taking the) football route, but I want them to know the baseball route is open to them, too. And there are a lot of kids that are athletic enough and mentally strong enough that can play this game — and I want to see them do it.”

On Netflix, legendary home run hitter Barry Bonds fawned over Walker after the derby. It was surreal. Albert Pujols was there, too. I took another screenshot (as if to always prove this actually happened). And Walker’s family was there, as well, including his dad (whose jersey back read JORDAN’S DAD 18) and his grandma (whose jersey back read JORDAN’S DEAREE 18).

Come Tuesday morning, Jordan Walker’s photo was on the front of ESPN.com and MLB.com. He was trending on X. The derby champ was larger than life.

And that’s thing: Walker has always been big. He stands 6-foot-6 and has incredibly chiseled muscles. But as he struggled in recent years, he somehow looked 5-foot-6.

Now, he’s like 8-foot-6.

He’s a giant, literally and figuratively. He carries himself now with a calm and a confidence that impressed a nation (and maybe even some fans in Philly). And his homers aren’t hit as much as they are launched. This season, he has the fastest bat speed in baseball, 79.2 mph, per Baseball Savant. And he’s in the 98th percentile with his 94.2 average exit velocity. In the final round against Schwarber, Walker hit two homers at 112 mph and another at 113 mph.

Monday made Jordan Walker. Of course, it was an exhibition. But the derby showcase encapsulated what’s great about Walker in 2026, including some traits we didn’t know he’d ever show as recently as a year ago.

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